ChessBase 17
ChessBase is a personal, stand-alone chess database that has become the standard throughoutthe world. Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH CHESSBASE: Retrieve games according to openings, players and tournaments; generate tournament cross tables and full graphic statistics of players or openings; “Similarity search” shows all games with similar pawn structures, sacrifice patterns, endgame positions, etc.; “Let’s check”*: access the world’s largest database of in-depth analysis (more than 200 million positions); “Instant Analysis”: Any unannotated game is analysed almost without delay immediately on loading (optional). “Assisted Analysis”: as you enter a game, whenever you click on a piece an evaluation is produced for all its possible target squares; “Tactical Analysis” will annotate game, inserting commentary, variations and diagrams, before strong moves or errors, into a game or an entire database. It will also point out combinations, played in the game or missed, tries, attacks, initiative, and of course the latest in openings theory; Cloud analysis: you can analyse positions simultaneously with several engines from on di©erent computers running in parallel; “Deep analysis”: generates an analysis tree that changes dynamically, as with time weaker variations are dropped; automatic analysis jobs for correspondence games; “Replay Training”: Playing through a game with the notation hidden and automatic training questions with tips for each individual move. Extended reference search for openings shows increase/decrease in popularity and typical recurring endgames; merge games on the fly into an opening tree; Repertoire recommendations for every move with a single click; generate a dossier containing all available information on a specific player from the database; Preparation for opponents with recognition of their weaknesses; generate a comprehensive openings report with main and critical lines, plans and most important games; Urgent news about recently played innovations; Search for characteristic tactical positions in an opening variation single click publication of games on the Internet; Improved search mask with tactical motifs and examples for manoeuvres and material distribution; Completely new search booster for patterns and plans; print games in superb quality with diagrams and multiple columns; Crisp new 3D boards thanks to raytracing technology; automatic update of your local reference database with the weekly installments of games (one year); access to the ChessBase online database with over eight million games*, mobile access with the ChessBase Account
The most important innovations
ChessBase 17 focusses at things that, in our view, are the foremost of the program's areas of application. First of all, a lot of work has gone into functions that one only notices subconsciously, but which improve the user experience: the new ultra-high-resolution 2D board; the really crisp display of notation and lists through support of Direct 2D which runs on all recent Windows versions; and popular in more recent times: the "Dark Mode".
Technical improvements
Then there are many technical improvements that generally improve the program, such as: a new faster data format, with fewer files and no search booster - which overcomes limitations of the CBH format; and a fine-tuning of the database paths that solves conflicts with the Documents directory and OneDrive, so you can smoothly manage your databases outside the standard Windows directories.
Interactive search mask and much more
The smart inputting of positions is of direct chess significance. You place a few pieces onto the board, and immediately see in which games of the reference database this position fragment occurs. By clicking on a game, you can save yourself the rest of the inputting. The new search mask is also more interactive: if you enter a search criterion, the number of games in the database for which it matches is immediately displayed. This way, you know what yield to expect before you click on "OK".
interactive searchmask
Pearl search: Find spectacular games instantly!
The new engine window
A lot has also been done in an area that is crucial for daily chess work: the engine window. Most ChessBase users probably spend 90% of their time with interactive analysis of positions. The output of engines has altered little in the last 30 years: variations, evaluations, dry as dust, done. In ChessBase 17, this has been fundamentally re-evaluated. The visual evaluation of pieces and measurement of complexity - you know from Fritz 18. The display of non-trivial threats or temptations is fancy, but also already familiar. The same goes for the training option to suppress the entire engine output, and only receive subtle tips as a stimulus to your own thinking. This is primarily intended for when watching live games.
Analysis in natural language
However, the interpretation of an engine variation in natural language is groundbreakingly new. It is often a challenge for many players to imagine what is actually happening based on just an engine variation. You see the best move, the rating, and that's it. ChessBase 17 describes in words what the variation entails
For example: In a super-sharp position, a complex variation has the strange rating "0.00". ChessBase 17 would then add "perpetual check" or "repetition of the position" and the situation would become clear. Material changes are vividly described: "White wins the queen for rook and knight"; "Black loses two pawns"; and even "The position is simplified into an endgame R+B vs R+N". There are also exciting statements like: "White gains a dangerous passed pawn on e6"; or "White sacrifices a bishop"; "Black has an attack"; "White gets the majority on the kingside"; "Both kings are insecure"; and "Manoeuvre Nd2-f1-e3-d5" etc.
Such assertions clarify the motives behind a position. If you want to understand even more of what the program means by these hints, simply move the mouse over the move indicated and the position appears on the main board. Clicking on a move copies the variation up to that move into the notation, which then simplifies the commentary
“The more colourful, the sharper” - or "Death to the exclamation mark!"
It does make a di'erence whether a position contains sharply forced variations, or several moves of almost equal value. Today's engines do not provide this information. ChessBase 17 therefore diverts a small part of the hardware resources towards a clone of the main engine, and calls this the "Buddy engine" - this only slightly impacts the computing power of the main engine. Buddy now goes over the variations, and analyses the position after each move. The variations are saved so that you can easily view them by moving your mouse cursor over on the move. Importantly, forced moves are annotated with coloured rectangles. The exclamation mark used in commenting on games for 170 years, doesn’t do justice to Buddy's search results; therefore, we now only use it for sacrifices
The colour of the rectangles indicates the evaluation. The shape shows from which depth the forcing is recognised in the calculation. Trivial tactics have vertically divided rectangles. Medium forcing divides the rectangle into two triangles from top left to bottom right. Deep forcing divides diagonally from right to left. If the upper (or left) part is green, the move wins. If the lower part is yellow, for example, the position remains roughly in the draw range after the worse alternative move. If it is red, the alternative move loses. This system may seem complex at first glance, but it has the advantage that a lot of information is signalled in one space-saving symbol. The exclamation mark has had its day. In any case, one thing is clear: the more colourful, the more forcing!
For years, we have recommended analysing with two engine variations, so that at least one forced main move can be recognised immediately. However, this costs a lot of additional computing time. ChessBase 17 marks the beginning of a renaissance of single-variation analysis. At the same time, the calculation goes much deeper. Buddy shows whether the first move is forced, and also provides the second variation.
New in ChessBase 17:
- New data format: fewer files, more functions, more comfort, more speed.
- Engine analysis renovated: Variants are automatically verbally annotated, forced continuations are recognized, “buddy heuristics” for greater search depth!
- Pearl search: Find spectacular games instantly! Beautiful games are marked in the database list.
- Optimised program interface: high-resolution 2D board, faster graphics.
- New clearer search mask: material & positional searches simplified, immediate feedback on expected results.
- Intelligent position input: when setting up pieces, you are shown the games where those positions occur.
- Dozens of detail improvements for improved usability, e.g. automatic loading of the last edited game.
- Control via One-Drive: all database paths can be set in the options dialogue.
- Newly structured game notation: with intelligent folding and symbols.
- Modern integrated browser for all database texts.
- More insight: Visualisation of attack correlations (optional).
- Dark Mode: darkened program interface.
*) Access via PREMIUM ChessBase Account
Big Database 2024
The Big Database 2024 contains more than 10.4 million games from 1475 to 2023 in the highest ChessBase quality standard. From world-class tournaments, youth or senior world championships to amateur open tournaments: with this database, every chess player is comprehensively informed.
ChessBase Magazine taster package
Try out ChessBase Magazine now and secure your ChessBase-Shop.com voucher! Order the ChessBase Magazine taster package! Read ChessBase Magazine for 6 months (= 3 issues) for the special price of only 44.90 € (instead of 65.70 € for buying them individually).
Test ChessBase Magazine now!
Which master trainer would you like to train you? Maybe Dorian Rogozenco, former coach of the German national team? This Hamburg-based grandmaster, knows the most important games in chess history inside out and also knows that ambitious players can learn a lot about strategy and technique from the classics!
Do you like to explore the openings? Then why not consult an opening expert like Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Markus Ragger, Ivan Sokolov, Daniel King, Mihail Marin or Jan Werle who’ll serve as your companion and advisor.
And who's the best endgame coach? Of course, it’s Karsten Mueller! Do you know the Lucena position and how to use an “umbrella” in the endgame? If you want to perfect your endgame technique, the endgame expert from Hamburg is definitely your first choice!
What do you think: how good would you be if you could regularly work with these top trainers? It’s not just a hypothetical. You can!
ChessBase Magazine offers you several hours of video training with these experts in each issue. World-class players such as Giri, Gukesh, Vidit, So, Duda, Hou Yifan, Shankdland, Gelfand and many more analyse their best games and explain the ideas behind their moves. Each issue also includes at least ten new opening articles with exciting ideas for your repertoire, an extensive collection of training exercises on tactics, strategy and endgames, and much more.
What do you think: how good will you become after training with ChessBase Magazine and your favourite authors? Take the chance to make it happen!
IMPORTANT NOTES
If you do not contact us after receiving the 3rd issue, you will continue to receive the ChessBase Magazine in the annual subscription (6 issues for 109.90 € instead of 131.40 € in single sale). You can cancel the annual subscription at any time. Money already paid for issues not yet delivered will be refunded.
ChessBase Account Abonnement Premium pour un mois
Appréciez en direct les moments forts du Championnat du Monde à venir entre Carlsen et Caruana en suivant chaque partie au coup par coup sur le serveur playchess.com en tant que membre Premium. Comment les logiciels d'analyse évaluent la position en cours? Et qu'en disent les Maîtres et experts connectés sur le serveur? De plus, en tant que membre Premium, vous avez accès à toutes les nouvelles applications web de ChessBase, avec entre autres: le portail vidéos, la base de données live avec plus de 8 millions de parties, l'entraîneur tactique avec plus de 50'000 exercices, le Live ou vous pouvez suivre tous les grands - et moins grands - tournois en direct ainsi que nos shows quotidiens d'échecs, etc.
ChessBase Account – Anytime and anywhere access to the whole ChessBase world
At the airport, in the hotel or at home on your couch: with the new ChessBase you always have access to the whole ChessBase world: the new ChessBase video library with hundreds of training videos, tactics server with more than 50,000 tasks, the brand new opening training App, the live database with eight million games, Let’s Check, and, of course, web access to playchess.com – all you need is an internet connection and a current browser, no matter whether you use iPad, a tablet PC, iMac, Windows-, Android- or Linux.
Playchess.com: The ultimate chess experience!
· Meet 20,000 fellow players daily: watch & play
· Unrated and rated games at different time controls
· Measure your own playing strength - “Playchess ELO”
· Live commentary on world-class events with Daniel King, Yasser Seirawan, Maurice Ashley and more!
· Live shows: “PowerPlay” with Daniel King or “Simon says” with Simon Williams and others!
· Training and simultaneous displays with professional coaches and GMs
Live database: 8 million games online!
· The fastest chess database in the world
· Always up-to-date: weekly updates with 5,000 games
· LiveBook: the world’s opening statistics online in one place
· Featuring “Let’s Check” with 200 million deeply analysed positions
Tactics app: Train chess tactics - wherever you are and whenever you like!
· 60,000 tactical exercises
· From one-movers to GM level
· Individually calibrated difficulty level for each position
· Get your own personal rating - “Tactics ELO”
· No pressure - solve without a clock and take time for your own analysis afterwards
· Fritz helps out: analyse with a Fritz engine in your browser!
· NEW: Tactics duel - who can solve the positions the fastest?
VIDEO: Your own private lessons with the masters!
· Over 13,000 chess videos online! Running time: over 6,500 hours
· Training from the opening to the endgame, shows, interviews, tournament reports
· With top trainers and world-class authors: Daniel King, Simon Williams, Mihail Marin, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Yannik Pelletier and many more!
Openings app: Create and practice your opening repertoire!
· Easy to build a repertoire by simply clicking moves
· Ideal support from the Live Database, LiveBook-statistics and Let’s Check engine analyses
· Learn variations in “Drill” mode
· Intelligent link to Live Database
· Use your smartphone to learn when on the move!
Fritz online - play & win!
· 5 levels: Beginner to GM
· Interactive assistance: get subtle hints by clicking on pieces
· No pressure: play in your own time without a clock
· No need to install anything!
· Also with live shows, analysis, calculation training, access to LiveBook and automatic game saving
MyGames Cloud: Your games and analysis - available 24/7!
· Always have your own games with you
· Secure back-ups prevent data loss!
· Individual analysis with browser-based Fritz engine
· All your games from playchess.com saved automatically
· Access to LiveBook opening reference database
Online-Update Reference Database 2024
Activation key for automatic update of your reference database in Chessbase 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.
Attention: This online update service 2024 is also included in the Mega Database 2024 and the ChessBase 17 Starter Package!
